D&D (2024) 2024 Player's Handbook Reveal #3: "New Paladin"

"the paladin who, if they were in a movie, would ... have impossibly white teeth".


New Paladin preview: here are some notes, focusing on what's new and changes from the playtest materials. Last time we saw the Paladin was in Playtest 6 [=PT6 below].
See also this comparison at D&D Beyond (by someone who saw the video before it was streamed!)

OVERVIEW

• spellcasting starts at level 1, specifically called out as an advantage for multiclassing. (Same for Rangers).
• Lay on Hands and Weapon mastery at 1
• Paladin's smite at 2, along with fighting style.
• NEW: Paladin fighting style restriction is removed (all are available). You may forego fighting style to learn cantrips. [The option to get cantrips was given in Tasha's. They're letting us have it, but it's not called a "fighting style". I suspect this ties to the decision that fighting styles are feats now, and this would be weaker than magic initiate (which also gives a level 1 spell).]
• Paladin's smite gives you the spell Divine smite, with one free casting.
• channel divinity [CD]: uses increase: start with 2, plus 1 on a short rest.
• divine sense in CD option (as in PT6). duration lasts 10 minutes.
• Find steed spell at level 5, cast 1/day with no slot. Redesigned so that spell can be upcast, with a unique steed statblock. [This strongly implies that it's a class-specific spell, not on others' lists. Awesome. (Will a Lore Bard be able to select it? I hope so, and the discussion of spell lists (see below) makes me think they might, since identifying class-specific spells is harder.)]
• Abjure Foes a CD option (given at 9 in PT6)
• Auras are single things, with a single radius, that gain abilities/functionality (not separate auras as in 2014).

SUBCLASSES

Oath of Devotion.

• NEW: Sacred Weapon is part of the attack action. (PT required a Bonus action).
• Smite of Protection (level 15 in PT6)
• Holy Nimbus (level 20) is a bonus action (as in PT6).

Oath of Glory ("...this for me is the paladin who, if they were in a movie, would look at the camera, have impossibly white teeth, with a little sparkle on them as they smile")

• Peerless athlete lasts an hour (as in PT6)
• NEW: Aura of Alacrity affects allies if they enter your aura on their turn (they no longer need to start there)
• Oath of Glory has a new spell at level 17: Yolan's Regal Presence. Created by the Queen of the Elves, and makes others kneel before you and take psychic damage. [It's said that others can cast this spell too -- if right, then it's a 5th level spell and Clerics (likely) will be getting this at level 9. Perhaps he misspoke, and it's a class-specific spell.]

Oath of the Ancients

• Nature's wrath range "has been extended"
• Aura of Warding as in PT6 (resistance to Necrotic, Psychic, and Radiant)
• Undying Sentinel at 15 as in PT6 (you don't return with 1hp, but [?] 3x class level.

Oath of Vengeance

• NEW: Vow of Enmity part of attack action (not Bonus action); can transfer (as in PT6)
• NEW: Level 20 Avenging Angel activated as a Bonus Action, and lasts an hour (not 10 min as in PT6)

NEW RULES

• new area of effect: it's been there since 2014, but hasn't been named. It's for AOE that emanate from a character or monster -- the Emanation.
• new approach to spell lists. Spell list is part of the class description (as we saw with the Artificer). Entries give the school, whether it needs concentration, and required components. [I presume spell descriptions will still be at the back of the book: this is referring to the lists currently on PHB 207-11.]
• oath spell lists, patron spell lists, etc. have all been vetted and updated throughout.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Yup, better D&D dead than turn into something you don't like.

I don't understand your picture, but why would I want the game to turn into something I don't like?

 

[Minigiant]

Then making people buy the books again is indeed just a cash grab.

No that's good business.

As a salesperson by occupation myself, a lot of things that are very good for me and neutral or bad for the customer.

That's business.

 

[Micah Sweet]

No that's good business.

As a salesperson by occupation myself, a lot of things that are very good for me and neutral or bad for the customer.

That's business.

Ok. Then as a customer I have no reason not to complain about it.

 

[SteveC]

I think the Paladin is really interesting because it's been the only example of a character class we've seen so far that has gotten worse. The other classes all have gotten better, with more options and more things to do. The Paladin is just worse.

And the reason I find it interesting is that every game I've played in has had a Paladin, and they can do some amazing burst damage, but are they too good? Do they overshadow the other party members? It's been my experience that no, they're not making the rest of the party seem ineffective. That's still the role of the Cleric and the Wizard, thankyouverymuch.

Do Paladin smites need to be toned down? I think that might depend on the adventuring day, which is one of the things I feel 5E really needs to address. In the games I've played in, the Paladin is constrained by the spell slots they have available to them over the course of a day. We don't do the full six encounters, but there are enough that the Paladin needs to intelligently ration out their slots. That's the limiting factor.

It seems like WotC has come to accept that most groups don't do six encounters a day (did they ever?) and so they're looking to balance features like smite in other ways. And for the Paladin, this means they got the nerf stick. And if you're looking at 5.5, this means you have a class that instead of being more interesting, more fun, just overall a better class, ends up being worse. And that just gives me an "ugh" reaction, and makes me think we'll have a character in our group who wasn't the most powerful, who's worse off. Doesn't sound that great to me.

 

[Chaosmancer]

IMO, the player base mostly does want to win all the time, yes. More generally, most folks aren't going to be sanguine about losing power for their PCs, even if it's minor or circumstantial. At the end of the day, you used to be able to do something a certain way, and now you can't. You can not care about that personally, but apparently plenty of folks do.

And I appreciate that people might not like even mild nerfs to a class. But since most people on here seem to accept that the nova nerf was necessary, and it is only the bonus action and being a spell that they take umbrance with... it feels a little over the top to declare the entire paladin ruined, their fields salted, and never again shall they be played because they have been brought low.

I don't know why people are suddenly so convinced that some wizard is going to counterspell a 1st level divine smite, but not worried about that same thing happening to shield, hunter's mark, hex, magic missile or any other 1st level spells.

 

[Minigiant]

Ok. Then as a customer I have no reason not to complain about it.

No but good business is not automatically a cash grab.

5e is beloved but needed fixes.

 

[Micah Sweet]

No but good business is not automatically a cash grab.

5e is beloved but needed fixes.

Not $160 worth of fixes. You want me to spend on you? Make it worth it to me.

 

[Oofta]

Actually I would have been fine with them making a proper 6e that actually addressed deeper issues. Would have been easier to evaluate as it's own thing to be taken or left.

Thanks for the assumptions though.

The issue is that "a proper 6E" seems to always come down to "Design the game I personally want and to heck with anyone who disagrees."

 

[Oofta]

And I appreciate that people might not like even mild nerfs to a class. But since most people on here seem to accept that the nova nerf was necessary, and it is only the bonus action and being a spell that they take umbrance with... it feels a little over the top to declare the entire paladin ruined, their fields salted, and never again shall they be played because they have been brought low.

I don't know why people are suddenly so convinced that some wizard is going to counterspell a 1st level divine smite, but not worried about that same thing happening to shield, hunter's mark, hex, magic missile or any other 1st level spells.

I really enjoy playing paladins, it's in my top 3. But the structure of smite and smite spells needed to be balanced. I rarely, if ever, used the smite spells because the smite was just better. So maybe it's a bit of a nerf in some ways but they also added versatility with things like lay on hands being a bonus action. Overall the class hasn't been nerfed as far as I can tell, it's just the capabilities so that they're a bit more balanced.

 

[Micah Sweet]

The issue is that "a proper 6E" seems to always come down to "Design the game I personally want and to heck with anyone who disagrees."

I said take or leave, @Oofta . I left 4e, but respected what they did with it and ultimately bear WotC no enmity about it.